NOAA Technical Report NMFS 19
Synopsis of Biological Data on the Spottail Pinfish, Diplodus holbrooki (Pisces: Sparidae)
George H. Darcy
January 1985
FAG Fisheries Synopsis No. 142
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration John V. Byrne, Administrator National Marine Fisheries Service William G. Gordon, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, recom mend or endorse any propriety product or proprietary material mentioned in this publication. No reference shall be madeto NMFS, or to this publica tion furnished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or imply that NMFS approves, recommends or endorses any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned herein, or which has as its purpose an intent to cause directly or indirectly the advertised pro duct to be used or purchased because of this NMFS publication. CONTENTS
Introduction.. . . 1 1 Identity. .. . . 1 1.1 Nomenclature . I 1.11 Valid name...... ) 1.12 Objective synonymy...... 1 1.2 Taxonomy...... 1 1.21 Affinities ...... 1 1.22 Taxonomic status...... 2 1.23 Subspecies ...... 2 1.24 Standard common names, vernacular names . 2 1.3 Morphology...... 2 1.31 External morphology...... 2 *1.32 Cytomorphology *1.33 Protein specificity 2 Distribution ...... 3 2.1 Totalarea .. .. 3 2.2 Differential distribution...... 3 2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles . 3 2.22 Adults... . . 4 2.3 Determinants of distribution changes . 4 2.4 Hybridization. .. . . 4 3 Bionomics and life history...... 4 3.1 Reproduction...... 4 3.11 Sexuality...... 4 3.12 Maturity...... 5 3.13 Mating . 5 3.14 Fertilization . 5 *3.15 Gonads 3.16 Spawning...... 5 3.17 Spawn...... 5 3.2 Preadult phase...... 5 3.21 Embryonic phase...... 5 3.22 Larvae and adolescent phase . 5 3.3 Adult phase...... 5 3.31 Longevity . 5 3.32 Hardiness... . . 5 3.33 Competitors...... 5 3.34 Predators . 6 *3.35 Parasites, diseases, injuries, and abnormalities *3.36 Chemical composition 3.4 Nutrition and growth . 6 3.41 Feeding . 6 3.42 Food...... 6 3.43 Growth rate . . 6 3.5 Behavior...... 8 3.51 Migrations and local movements...... 8 3.52 Schooling . 8 3.53 Responses to stimuli . 8 4 Population...... 8 4.1 Structure . 8 4.11 Sex ratio ...... 8 *4.12 Age composition 4.13 Size composition...... 8 4.14 Subpopulations . 8 4.2 Abundance and density . 8 4.3 Natality and recruitment __ . 9 4.31 Reproduction rates . 9 4.32 Factors affecting reproduction...... 9 4.33 Recruitment . 9 *4.4 Mortality and morbidity *4.5 Dynamics of population 4.6 The population in the community and the ecosystem . 9 5 Exploitation...... 10 5.1 Fishing equipment . 10 5.2 Fishing areas . 10 5.3 Fishing seasons . 10 5.4 Fishing operations and results . . 10 iii 5.41 Effort and intensity 10 *5.42 Selectivity 5.43 Catches. 10 6 Protection and management 10 *7 Pond fish culture ... 10 Acknowledgments .. 10 Literature cited .... 10
*No information available.
iv Synopsis of Biological Data on the Spottail Pinfish, Diplodus holbrooki (Pisces: Sparidae)
GEORGE H. DARCY I
ABSTRACT
Information on the biology and fishery resources of the spottail pinfish, Diplodus holbrook;, is compiled, reviewed, and analyzed in the FAD species synopsis slyle.
INTRODUCTION Diplodus caudill/Clcula. Jordan and Gilbert 1883 (young, not caudimacula of Poey) The spottail pinfish, Diplodus holbrooki, is a common, shallow Diplodus holbrookii. Bean 1891 water sparid fish occurring along the southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States. Individuals are especially 1.2 Taxonomy common along the Carolinas and on the west coast of Florida. They are sometimes quite abundant on grassflats and may be 1.21 Affinities among the dominant fish species on natural and artificial reefs, man-made platforms, and jetties. Because of their abundance, Suprageneric spottail pinfish may be ecologically important as forage for larger carnivores; they are among the dominant herbivores in shallow Phylum Chordata water grassbeds. Their flesh is of excellent quality, and spottail Class Osteichthyes pinfish probably make up a significant portion of the catch of sub Superorder Acanthopterygii sistence fishermen through much of their range. There is no Order Perciformes known directed fishery. This paper summarizes information on Suborder Percoidei this species. Family Sparidae
IDENTITY Generic
1.1 Nomenclature The genus Diplodus Rafinesque, Indice d'lttilogia Siciliana 54, 1810, is best represented in the eastern Atlantic Ocean (Jordan 1.11 Valid name and Fesler 1893), though at least three species occur in the western Atlantic (Randall and Vergara R. 1978). Type of the Diplodus holbrooki (Bean 1878) (Fig. I). Also appears as Diplodus genus is Sparus Clnnularis Gmelin (Jordan and Fesler 1893 J. holbrookii (Bean 1878), bearing the original patronym emenda Members of the genus are characterized by an ovate, compres tion of Bean (e.g., Randall and Vergara R. 1978). sed body with the back notably elevated; broad, strongly flattened, unnotched, incisiform jaw teeth at the front of the mouth; Spottail pinfish, Diplodus holbrooki (Bean 1878: 198), type molariform teeth in several rows; a large, dark blotch on the locality: Charleston, S.C. The name comes from the Greek diploos, caudal peduncle; short gill rakers; about 12 dorsal fin spines: and meaning double. and odonlos, meaning tooth, referring to the two the absence of a procumbent (forward-pointing) spine preceding types of teeth. Named after John Edwards Holbrook, naturalist the dorsal fin (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Randall and and author of "Ichthyology of South Carolina" (Jordan and Fesler Vergara R. 1978). The skull resembles that ofArchosarflus, but the 1893). cavernous or honeycombed structure of the interorbital area is more prominent (Jordan and Fesler 1893). 1.12 Objective synonymy Specific The following synonymy is based on Jordon and Fesler (1893) and Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928): The following species diagnosis is based on Randall and Vergara R. (1978): Body oval, compressed, and very deep, the Sargus holbrookii Bean 1878 body depth contained about 2.2 times in standard length (SL); Diplodus holbrooki. Jordan and Gilbert 1882 snout pointed, lateral profile nearly straight; posterior nostril rounded; mouth moderately developed, maxilla barely reaching to anterior eye margin; both jaws anteriorly with 6 well developed
'Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA. 75 incisiform teeth; 3 rows of lateral molariform teeth: 17-21 gill Virginia Beach Drive. Miami. FL 33149-1099. rakers on first arch; dorsal fin XII, 13-16, not preceded by a small Figure I.-Adult Diplodus holbrooki. (From Goode 1884, plate 132.) forward-directed spine; longest dorsal spine about 2.5 times in Charleston bream, pin-fish (Goode 1884); jimmy (Goode and Gill head length; anal fin with 13-15 soft rays; pectoral fins long, 1903); spot, pinfish (Jordan and Evermann 1923); spot-tailed pin reaching at least to first anal spine when appressed; lateral line fish, sailor's choice (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928); spot-tail scales 50-61. Steel blue color on back, sides silvery, with a large pinfish (Reid 1954); and spot tail (Springer and Woodburn 1960). black spot anteriorly on caudal peduncle which nearly reaches lower peduncular margin; opercular membrane blackish. 1.3 Morphology Two other species of Diplodus occur in the western Atlantic Ocean-D. argenteus and D. bermudensis. Diplodus holbrooki dif 1.31 External morphology fers from D. argenteus (D. argenteus caudimacula of Randall and Vergara R. 1978) in having lower dorsal and anal fins, a shallower The following morphological description is based on Jordan body, fewer lateral lines scales (50-61 vs. 56-65), and a larger JnJ Fesler (1893), Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928), Miller and caudal peduncle spot (extending well below midline in D. Jorgenson (1973), Hoese and Moore (1977), and Randall and holbrooki, only slightly below in D. argenteus) (Randall and Vergara R. (1978). Vergara R. 1978). Diplodus bermudensis has even more lateral line Body elliptical, compressed, and deep (depth about 2.1-2.2 in scales (62-67) and is known only from Bermuda, where D. SL). Dorsal profile regularly rounded; snout pointed, with nearly holbrooki has not been reported (Randall and Vergara R. 1978). straight profile. Head 3.25-3.65 in SL. Eye rather small, 1.75 in preorbital distance, 1.50 in snout, 4.35-4.50 in head. Mouth 1.22 Taxonomic status moderate to large, almost horizontal; maxillary 3.35 in head and not quite reaching anterior margin of eye. Six well developed Diplodus holbrooki is a morphospecies. incisiform teeth at frollt of each jaw, inserted obliquely; 3 rows of molariform teeth laterally. Posterior nostril rounded. Gill rakers 1.23 Subspecies short. about 17-21 on first arch. Dorsal fin XII-XIII, 13-16, not preceded by a procumbent spine; fin continuous; longest dorsal No subspecies are recognized. spine about 2.5-2.7 in head. Caudal fin deeply forked; total caudal rays 33-34 (dorsal primary rays 9, dorsal secondary rays 8-9, ven 1.24 Standard common names, vernacular names tral primary rays 8, ventral secondary rays 7-10). Anal fin III, 12-15, the second spine slightly longer than the third. Pelvic fins The accepted common name of D. holbrooki in the United reaching half way to anal fin origin. Pectoral fins long, pointed, States is spottail pinfish (Robins et aJ. 1980), and standard FAO reaching at least to first anal fin spine when appressed, 3.35 in common names are; English, spottail pinfish; French, sar coton body. Lateral line scales 50-61; 7 scales above and 14 scales nier; Spanish, sargo cotonero (Randall and Vergara R. 1978). below lateral line. Precaudal vertebrae 10-11, caudal vertebrae Other names and variations appearing in the literature include: 14.
2 Mouth and tooth morphology has been described in detail by Gulf. spottail pinfish appear to inhabit relatively deep water, far Stoner and Livingston (1984). ther offshore, than in the northeastern Gulf (Hastings 1972). Steel blue color on back, silver on sides; conspicuous black spot See 2.21,2.22.2.3, and 4.2. anteriorly on caudal peduncle, nearly reaching lower peduncular margin; opercular membrane and bases of pectoral fins blackish. 2.2 Differential distribution Young have about 5 narrow, vertical, dark bars on back and sides, with an equal number of short intermediate bars on the back. 2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles
2 DISTRIBUTION Distribution of eggs is not known. Spawning probably takes place somewhat offshore, yet in fairly shallow water. The scarcity 2.1 Total area of spottail pinfish north of Virginia indicates that spawning prob ably does not take place much north of Cape Hatteras, NC. The spottail pinfish is distributed in coastal waters of the Larval spottail pinfish were collected by Houde et aU during United States from New Jersey south to Florida on the Atlantic ichthyoplankton surveys of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (Fig. coast, and from Florida to southern Texas on the Gulf of Mexico 3). Larvae were collected on only 2 out of 17 cruises in January coast (Fig. 2). It is apparently absent from Bermuda, the Bahamas, March. All were taken in < 15 m of water (4-15 m). Environ and the West Indies (Jordan and Fesler 1893; Smith 1976; Ran mental conditions at the time of collection ranged from 16° to dall and Vergara R. 1978). 18°C and from 34 to 35°/00 salinity. Although one 56 mm TL specimen was collected by seine in Juveniles are usually found in shallow water. Individuals as Absecon Inlet, NJ, in 1974 (Milstein and Thomas 1976), and the small as 7 mm SL have been found near shore (Hastings 1972). species has been collected in Chesapeake Bay (Hildebrand and Smallest juveniles usually appear inshore in spring or early sum Schroeder 1928), spotlail pinfish are much more common south mer (Caldwell 1955; Springer and Woodburn 1960; Hastings of Cape Hatteras (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Struhsaker 1972). occupying shallow seagrass flats (Caldwell 1955), eelgrass 1969; Smith 1976). Specimens from north of Cape Hatteras prob beds (Darnell and Wissing 1975), wharf pilings (Jordan and Ever ably result from Gulf Stream drift and do not represent local mann 1923), and areas of sparse vegetation on sandy-mud bottom populations. In the Gulf of Mexico, several workers have placed (Reid 1954). Caldwell (1955) found age-O spottail pinfish most the north end of the range near Cedar Key, FL (e.g., Hildebrand abundant on shallow flats near Cedar Key, FL, in spring and sum and Schroeder 1928; Randall and Vergara R. 1978). However, mer. moving to deeper flats and channel edges in fall and early reports of spottail pinfish from the northern (Hastings 1972; winter; age-O fish disappeared entirely from inshore waters in Hastings et al. 1976) and northwestern Gulf (Briggs et al. 1964; winter. A similar distribution of juveniles was noted by Reid Causey 1969; Hastings 1972) have established its presence at (1954), with 56-90 mm SL individuals found on deep flats in fall. least as far south and west as southern Texas. In the northwestern Larger fish (> 91 mm SL) are most common at deeper offshore
'Houde, E. D.• J. C. Leak. C. E. Dowd, S. A. Berkeley. and W. J. Richards. 1979 Ichthyoplankton abundance and diversity in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Report 10 50' rn----...,r-----r-----:IrI":'O-..~., Bureau of Land Management under Conlract No. AA550·CT7-28. 546 p.
~~ .~ ~( ~~\~O \ ... 10m ~- "'" ~o m. .. .'.. ''\'' 1>.- . ~. . e\·· () . . .. .\ oo '''. \ .., 2, m" . \. .. eel ....~\. \'. "~'~ 30· \\\\ \'.' ········.···.1 .. \ ... , \. " ../, .. , '. '\'''. ,i " . ~··r:·.··)'~' 't ~2··~·:.·· • 24°L- ~-----~----....l.------I 86° 84° 82° 80"
100' 90' 80· 70' Figure 3.-8lalions al which Dipladus holbrooki lanae were collecled al leasl once during 17 cruises 10 Ihe easlern Gulf of Mexico, 1971-74 (large dols). Small Figure 2.-Dislribution of Dipladus holbrooki. (Based on Milslein and Thomas doIs are slations Ihal were sampled bUI did nol produce D. holbrooki larvae. 1976; Smilh 1976; Hoese and Moore 1977; Randall and Vergara R. 1978.) (From Houde el al. see lexl footnote 2, fig. 112.)
3 stations, but sometimes occur inshore on shallow flats or on chan 1.4 km inland from the mouth of the Mud River (Kilby, pers. nel edges (Caldwell 1955). commun. in Caldwell 1955). Salinity at the time of the observa See 2.3 and 4.2. tion is unknown, but may have been quite low. This observation apparently represents a rare occurrence in this type of habitat. 2.22 Adults Although basically shallow-water fish, spottail pinfish do range offshore (Chester et al 1984). Young are typically found in Adult spottail pinfish usually inhabit deeper water than juven shallow water, with larger individuals more common in deeper iles (Caldwell 1955; Hastings 1972), though they also occur in water (Caldwell 1955; Hastings 1972; Randall and Vergara R. shore. Offshore habitats include natural and artificial reefs 1978). The deepest record known is about 82 m (R. O. Parker3 ). (Causey 1969; Parker et al. 1979; Smith et al. 1979; Miller and Smith et al. (1979) reported that spottail pinfish around offshore Richards 1980), live bottom (Struh~.aker 1969). sponge reefs man-made platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico are found (Stoner and Livingston 1984), man-made platforms (Hastings et primarily in the upper water column around pilings. In the north al. 1976), and open, sandy bottom near rock reefs or other relief western Gulf, spottail pinfish are seldom found inshore in shallow (Springer and Woodburn 1960). A study in the northern Gulf of water, but do occur on reefs offshore (Hastings 1972). Causey Mexico by Smith et al. (1979) showed spottail pinfish more abun (1969) reported spottail pinfish as residents of Seven and One dant around artificial reefs than natural reefs. Adults, like juven Half Fathom Reef, off Padre Island, TX. iles, apparently leave nearshore habitats for deeper water in Availability of suitable habitat also affects distribution of spot winter (Caldwell 1955). Springer and Woodburn (1960) observed tail pinfish. Inshore, flat, vegetated bottoms such as grassflats are a number of large specimens in 10.7 III of water. 19 km offshore preferred (Caldwell 1955; Randall and Vergara R. 1978; Stoner from Tampa. FL. in February. and Livingston 1984). Grassbeds also act as nursery areas Inshore, adults occur on flats and channel edges (Caldwell (Hastings 1972), and may provide shelter and food. Smith (1976) 1955). near jetties, breakwaters, ard piers (Hild"brand and listed spottail pinfish as a secondary reef species. Longley and Schroeder 1928; Hastings 1972), and in bays and harburs (Spring· Hildebrand (1941) occasionally found them near coral on reefs, er and Woodburn 1960; Randall and Vergara R. 197R) of fairly but spottail pinfish are apparently more common around rock high salinity. reefs, sponge reefs, artificial reefs, jetties, and man-made plat See 2.3 and 4.2. forms (Springer and Woodburn 1960; HJsrings 1972; Hastings et al. 1976; Smith et al. 1979; Parker et al. 1979; Stoner and Living 2.3 Determinants of distribution changes ston 1984) than on true coral reefs. Miller and Richards (1980) listed the species as a reef fish in the South Atlantic Bight. Smith Distributiun uf spottail pin fish is affected by water temperature (1976) did not list spottail pinfish from the Florida Middle (season). salinity. water depth. and availability of suitable Grounds. They are common on live bottom in the South Atlantic substrate and habitat. The influence of these environmental fac Bight (Struhsaker 1969) and the northeastern Gulf of Mexico tors changes with growth stage of the fish. (Darcy and Gutherz 1984), but apparently are not residents of the The geugraphical range of spottail pinfish is probably deter soft-bottom communities of the white shrimp and brown shrimp mined hy suitable temperatures; the species is considered warm grounds of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (Chittenden and temperate and exhibits a typical Carolinian distribution (Smith McEachran 1976). 1976). Seasonal inshore-offshore movements are probably in See 2.22, 3.32, and 3.51. response to temperature changes. Typically, small young appear in shallow water in spring when waters are warming, and remain in 2.4 Hybridization shallow waler over flats in summer (Caldwell 1955; Hastings 1972; Stuner and Livingston 1984). In late summer and fall, spot No hybrids are known. tail pinfish often move to slightly deeper flats and channel edges (Reid 1954; Caldwell 1955; Wang and Raney 1971), possibly to 3 BIONOMICS AND LIFE HISTORY avoid warm surface waters. [n late fall or winter, spottail pinfish disappear from shallow water, presumably moving offshore 3.1 Reproduction (Caldwell 1955; Hastings 1972). Reid (1954) collected specimens at 15.5-24.5°C at Cedar Key, FL, and Caldwell (1955) reported 3.1 I Sexuality them from 17.5-32.5°C water. In St. Andrew Bay, FL, Hastings (1972) observed spottail pinfish in shallow water at 16-31 °C sur No information concerning sexuality in spottail pinfish could face temperature. During I yr of Hastings' study, individuals be found in the literature. Many porgies are protandric hermaph disappeared from shallow water by the time water temperature rodites (Breder and Rosen 1966). Dip!odus vulgaris and D. annu fell to J7°C; during another year they were present at 16°C, but laris of the eastern Atlantic have been reported to be hermaph absent at 14°C. roditic, at least on some o.;casions (Holt 1899; Stephan 1902; van Spottail pinfish are usually found at fairly high salinities, rarely Oordt 1930). Diplodus annularis is reported to have both in brackish water, and virtually never in freshwater (Caldwell monoecious and dioecious individuals (van Oordt 1930). Whether 1955; Randall and Vergara R. 1978; Stoner and Livingston 1984). spottail pinfish are hermaphroditic is unknown. 0 At Cedar Key, FL, specimens were collected at 9.7-31.0 / 00 salinity (Reid 1954; Caldwell 1955), though Caldwell reported % that salinity rarely fell below 24.0 0 in the areas frequented by spottail pinfish. Wang and Raney (1971) found spottail pinfish only in the outer bay system of Charlotte Harbor, FL, just instde 3R O. Parker. Fishery Biologist (Research). Southedsl Fisheries Center Beaufort the barrier islands where salinities are relatively high. One Laboratory. National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA. Beaufort. NC 285t6-9722. specimen was reported from Salt Spring, Hernando Co.. FL, about pers. commun. 4 3.12 Maturity 3.3 Adult phase
Spottail pinfish appear to spawn during the second winter or 3.31 Longevity spring after hatching (Reid 1954). Reid found a 90 mm SL specimen with developed, but not mature gonads. No fish smaller According to Randall and Vergara R. (1978), spottail pinfish than 129 mm SL was found to have spawned, but 129-153 mm SL reach 32 cm SL, and are common to 25 cm. Hildebrand and individuals showed considerable gonad development in the Schroeder (1928) reported examining a specimen of about 35 em. prespawning season. Maximum weight is approximately 1.2 kg 4
3.13 Mating 3.32 Hardiness
Mating has not been reported in the literature. Pairing may take The spollail pinfish is a warm-temperate species. Individuals place, and hermaphroditism is possible (Breder and Rosen 1966). have been collected from water as cold as 15.5°C (Reid 1954; Cedar Key, FL). Hastings (1972) found spottail pinfish in St. An 3.14 Fertilization drew Bay, FL, at 16°C, but found none at 14°C. Movement out of shallow water in winter is probably a mechanism for avoiding low Fertilization is probably external. water temperatures. Highest temperature at which spollail pinfish have been reported in the literature is 32.5°C (Caldwell 1955: 3.16 Spawning Cedar Key, FL). Reid (1954) and Caldwell (1955) noted a shift to deeper flats in late summer and fall. This may be in response to Spottail pinfish appear to spawn in winter or early spring based high temperatures on shallow flats during this period. on occurrence of larvae and small juveniles. lchthyoplankton Although Briggs (1958) listed the spottail pinfish as euryhaline, surveys conducted in the eastern Gulf of Mexico by Houde et al. it is rarely reported from water of very low salinity. Reid (1954) 0 (footnote 2) produced spottail pinfish larvae only in winter collected specimens at 9.7-28.6 / 00 salinity at Cedar Key, but
(January-March). Smallest juveniles (29-39 mm SL) collected by Caldwell (1955) collected them at 24.4-31.0% 0 in the same area. Reid (1954) at Cedar Key, FL, were collected in May. Caldwell According to Caldwell (1955), salinity rarely was much below % (1955) found 17 mm SL individuals inshore at Cedar Key in late 24 0 in areas inhabited by spottail pinfish. March and speculated that they were probably spawned in late See 2.3. December through February. Stoner and Livingston (1984) reported smallest juveniles (II mm SL) from Apalachee Bay, FL, 3.33 Competitors in March. In Tampa Bay, FL, Springer and Woodburn (1960) col lected 19 mm juveniles in April. Hastings (1972) reported that Common associates of spottail pinfish include sparids, small juveniles (14.4-16.9 mm SL) were collected by S. A. Bor haemulids, serranids, and kyphosids. Of grassbed fishes studied by tone near St. Andrew Bay, FL, jetties in May, indicating a March Carr and Adams (1973) at Crystal River, FL, only three had her April spawning period. bivorous life stages: Spottail pinfish; pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides; Spawning is assumed to take place offshore, since large in and halfbeak, Hyporhamphus unifasciatus. Of these, spottail pin dividuals are absent from shallow water during the spawning fish become herbivorous at an early stage and remain so as adults, season (Caldwell 1955). Spawning probably occurs only once dur pinfish become herbivorous at about the same stage of develop ing the year, and lasts for only about 2 mo, based on occurrence of ment as spottail pinfish but become carnivorous as adults, and juveniles (Caldwell 1955; Hastings 1972). halfbeaks feed as herbivores as adults, but feed at the surface (Carr and Adams 1973). Only juvenile pinfish seem likely to compete for food with spottail pinfish in the inshore grassbed habitat. 3.17 Spawn Spottail pinfish have heavy incisor teeth like sheepshead, Archo sargus probatocephalus, but are more characteristic of open Eggs of spottail pinfish have not been described in the litera waters, less often seen around bridges and pilings, and prefer ture, but are probably planktonic. warmer water than sheepshead (Hastings 1972). Spottail pinfish are among the most common fishes on artificial 3.2 Preadult phase reefs off Clearwater, FL (Smith et al. 1979). Other common species on the artificial reefs include white grunt, Haemulon 3.21 Embryonic phase plumieri; tomtate, Haemulon aurolineatum; and sand perch, Diplectrum formosum. Hastings et al. (1976) reported spottail pin Although there is no information regarding the embryo of spot fish around man-made offshore platforms near Panama City, FL. tail pinfish, the developing eggs are probably planktonic. Other fishes feeding at the same level in the water column on the pilings were pinfish and Bermuda chub, Kyphosus sectatrix. Chester et al. (1984) used principal component analysis to ex 3.22 Larvae and adolescent phase amine headboat catches off the Carolinas. Spottail pinfish catches were most closely correlated with catches of whitebone porgy, Larvae have not been described in the literature. Specimens collected in ichthyoplankton surveys by Houde et al. (footnote 2) ranged from 2.1 to 9.0 mm SL, with a mode of 4.1-5.0 mm. Juveniles have about five narrow, vertical, dark bars on the 4Tardiff, c., and C. S. Manooch III. Age, growth, and length-weight relationship of the spollail pinfish, Dip/cdus holbrooki, in the South Atlantic Bight. Unpubl. sides of the body (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928). manuscr., 6 p. Southeast Fisheries Center Beaufort Laboralory, National Marine See 1.3. Fisheries Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC 28516-9722.
5 Calamus /eucosteus; secondary associations of spottail pinfish with Stoner and Livingston (1984) reported six ontogenetic changes white grunt and tomtate were also found. in food habits of spottail pinfish from Apalachee Bay, FL. See 3.42 and 4.6. Juveniles 11-15 mm SL consumed primarily harpacticoid copepods, invertebrate eggs, crab zoea, and other small animals; at 3.34 Predators 16-30 mm,juveniles ate a wide variety of small food items: Inver tebrate eggs, harpacticoid copepods, crab zoea, and hydroids. Predators of spottail pinfish probably include snappers and Between 31 and 40 mm, juveniles became more omnivorous, groupers (Tardiff and Manooch footnote 4), large porgies, snook, feeding mainly on sessile organisms, such as hydroids, and macro barracuda, seatrouts, and flatfishes. epiphytes. At 41-80 mm, the diet was dominated by epiphytes; polychaetes were aJded to the diet of 81-90 mm fish, and adults> 3.4 Nutrition and growth 90 mm SL fed on epiphytes, bryozoans, mussels, and sponges. Other authors have also reported food habits of spottail pinfish. 3.41 Feeding Reid (1954), 'Norking at Cedar Key, FL, found mysids, copepods, and bryozoans in stomachs of 29-39 0101 SL juveniles examined, Spottail pin fish feed mainly on attached plants and animals, and cupepods, other crustaceans, algae, and polychaetes in 56-90 using their incisorlike teeth to scrape or nip off the food material mm SL specimens. Seagrass was found in the stomach of one (Carr and Adams 1972). Hastings et al. (1976) observed them individual examined by Longley and Hildebrand (1941). In SI. grazing sessile organisms near the surface around pilings of man Andrew Bay, FL, Hastings (1972) reported that spollail pinfish made platforms off Panama City, FL. Although spottail pinfish feeding habits resembled those of sheepshead. One large adult at were reported to move up and down the pilings during feeding, the SI. Andre'N Bay jetties had eaten numerous gastropod egg most of their feeding was done near the surface. Spollail pinfish cases (probably Thais sp.) which it had probably scraped off rocks are visual feeders and are most active during daylight (Stoner
6 DIPLODUS HOLBROOKI (SPOTTAIL PINFISH)
31 12 9 10 II 12 12 100 17 31 42 \8 MISC. EPI- PHYTIC PLANT a 90 ALGAE INVERT. EPI- REMAINS PHYTIC MISC. ALGAE 80 INVERT. REMAINS - EPI- ~ MISC. PHYTIC 70 NEMATODES EPI- ALGAE EPI- - INVERT. PHYTIC PHYTIC IREMAINS ALGAE EPI- EPI- EPI- ALGAE EPI- C/) CYPRIDS IvELIGER! PHYTIC PHYTIC PHYTIC 60 PHYTIC .- ALGAE ALGAE Z ALGAE ALGAE EPI- W PHYTIC SHRIMP .- ALGAE AND Z 50 0 IvEUGER! MYSIDS () MISC. MISC. 40 POLY- CHAETES I MISC. SPONGE -.I SHRIMP () HYDRDIDS AND
Figure 4.-Stomach contents of juvenile and adult Diplodus holbrooki. Bar graph for each sile class (in standard length) shows percent of total stomach contents attributable to individual food items. Numbers above each bar indicate number of specimens examined. (From Carr and Adams 1973. fig. 1I.) 10 10 30 .0 , 80 90 100 no response to small seasonal changes in water temperature or a , '0 '0 "0 . H'. ~I result of growth of the fish and different food requirements. , Absence of spottail pinfish in shallow water in winter indicates , - ... '51 . NOV 1141 that they migrate offshore to somewhat deeper water (Caldwell 0 1955; Smith 1976). These migrations may serve to avoid low JUN (:111 _.AJ. _.- water temperatures in shallow water. Spawning also takes place ~j[ JUe lUI during this period. See 2.3 and 3.16. ,...... AUG 13')
112) .1 .. '" 3.52 Schooling ~ 10 ....L OCT '" I ~I Young spottail pin fish often form schools. Longley and Hilde .=, ' NO' NONE rUEN OEC ,'" brand (1941) reported seeing small schools along rocky shores and NONE TAKEN JON 101 on a bank in the Dry Tortugas, FL. Around jetties at SI. Andrew FE, '51 Bay, FL, large schools of 100-200 juveniles « 8 cm SL) have NONE TAKEN H'. '01 been observed in May and June (Hastings 1972). Young spottail ,P. IIJ pinfish have also been reported to school heterotyplcally with pin HOV (121 ~ fish along the southern coast of Texas (Hoese and Moore 1977). LENGTH ("'''',
Fil(urr 5.-Standard Irnl(th frequency data for the 0 agr class of Dip/odlls 3.52 Responses to stimuli ho/brooki at Cedar Key. FL. 1953-54. Numbers of specimens examined appear in parentheses. (From Caldwell 1955. til(. I.) Spottaij pinfish appear to respond to falling water temperatures in winter by moving to deeper water (Caldwell 1955; Hastings 1972). See 2.3. 3.32, and 3.51. 80 ,------. /71.3 78.3 77.5 / 4 POPULAT10 / ~ 70 / ~ ,/67.S ,, 4.1 Structure :I: I- 60 ,.///.'60.8 '"z 4.11 Sex ratio ... l~3.1 ..J 50 , I Sex ratio in spottail pinfish is unknown. Many sparids are I 0 , a: ,, hermaphrodites (Breder and Rosen 1966). .. 40 , 0 See 3.11. z I .. /35.9 I- , UI 30 , 4.13 Size composition ,/ / /-24.5 z Little information is available concerning size composition of .. 20 , ... / ~ "'17.0 spottail pinfish. Size composition of age-O fish from Cedar Key, FL. was reported by Caldwell (1955) (Fig. 5). 10 See 3.43.
4.14 Subpopulations
No subpopulations of spottail pinfish have been delineated.
Fil(ure 6.-Growth rate of the 0 age class of Dip/odlls ho/brooki at Cedar Kry, 4.2 Abundance and density FL, during 1953. Mean standard length for each month is indicated on the curve. (From Caldwell 1955. tig. 2.) Spottail pinfish may be quite abundant in suitable habitats. Ac tual abundance is difficult to assess because catch statistics are rarely kept for this species. However, qualitative estimates have appeared in the literature, as have a few quantitative reports based 3.5 Behavior on scientific surveys. Along the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, spottail 3.51 Migrations and local movements pinfish have been reported abundant at Beaufort, NC, and Charleston, SC (Goode and Gill 1903) and common at Lake Although little is known regarding movements of spottail pin Wonh, FL (Jordan and Evermann 1923). Darnell and Wissing fish, evidence suggests that both local movements and more exten (1975) collected juveniles in shallow eelgrass beds in the Newport sive inshore-offshore migrations take place. Caldwell (1955) River estuary, NC, but reported that they were rare. Offshore, found that age-O fish at Cedar Key, FL, moved from shallow flats, Struhsaker (1969) collected spottail pinfish commonly (10-50% which they occupied from March to August, to deeper flats and frequency of occurrence) on live bottom off North and South channel edges in fall and early winter. This may have been in Carolina.
8 In the Gulf of Mexico, spottail pinfish have been reported to be 1.0 reasonably common on the west coast of Florida and offshore on llI: the West Florida Shelf. Caldwell (1955) stated that spottail pin ... r---- r-- III 0.5 fish were present in moderate numbers most of the year at Cedar ~ Key, FL. In St. Andrew Bay, FL, Hastings (1972) reported that ::l Z spottail pinfish were common around jetties, increasing in abun dance each year over the 3-yr study period; abundance varied n seasonally and was highest in warm months. Stoner and Living 9-18 19-27 28-SS 56-110 111-193 DEPTH (M) ston (1984) also reported highest abundance in mid-summer in III Apalachee Bay, FL. In somewhat deeper water, Smith et al. III ce (1979) found spottail pinfish to be one of the most common fishes ~ on artificial reefs off Clearwater, FL; they were somewhat less 0 common on natural reefs in the area. Off Panama City, FL, spot III tail pinfish are moderately common around man-made platforms offshore. O.S On the West Florida Shelf, a benthic trawling survey in January 1978 collected spottail pinfish in 8.6% of the samples (Darcy and Figure 8.-lndex of relative abundance of Dip/odus holbrooki on lhe WeSI Gutherz 1984). Over the total area sampled from Cape San BIas, Florida Shelf, January 1978. (Darcy, G. H., and E. J. Gutherz. Abundance and FL, to the Dry Tortugas, FL, in 9-93 m of water, spottail pinfish distribution of commonly trawled species of fishes and invertebrates. Wesl Florida Shelf, January 1978. Manuscr. in prep. Soulheast Fisheries Cenler. ranked sixth, by weight, of the total fish catch. They occurred at NMFS, NOAA, 75 Vir~inia Beach Drive. Miami, FL 33149-1099.) only one station south of Tampa Bay, and none were caught in water over 30 m deep (Figs. 7, 8). From Cape San Bias to Tampa Bay. spottail pinfish ranked fifth, by weight, of the total fish Ichthyoplankton surveys in the eastern Gulf of Mexico conduc catch, comprising 6.9% of the total catch weight. The largest ted by Houde et al. (footnote 2) collected larvae of spottail pinfish single catch was 1,279 individuals, weighing 89.8 kg, from a on only two cruises. Based on these results, spottail pinfish larval 10-min tow in 20.4 m of water. abundance in the survey area was estimated at 1.3247-1 1.9585 x 109, and the mean num ber of larvae under a 10m2 surface area of water was estimated at 0.088-2.300. SpottaiJ pinfish are not common in the western Gulf of Mexico, particularly inshore (Hastings 1972). Most individuals in the o western Gulf are found on offshore reefs. + See 2.1, 2.21, 2.22, and 2.3.
4.3 Natality and recruitment
4.31 Reproduction rates
The limited period of time in which larvae and small juveniles are collected indicates that spottail pinfish spawn only once a year. Fecundity is unknown.
4.32 Factors affecting reproduction
Spawning is seasonal and is probably in response to water temperature changes. See 2.21, 2.3, and 3.16.
r 4.33 Recruitment + MEAN CATCH PER TOW Smallest juveniles appear in shallow water in spring. Randall and Vergara R. (1978) reported that smallest juveniles (approx
§I 10-49 imately 1.7 mm SL) appear in March. Smallest specimens (19 mm SL) collected by Springer and Woodburn (1960) in Tampa Bay mIIJ 50-" were captured in April. At Cedar Key, FL, small juveniles (29-39
~ 100'" mm SL) were first collected in May (Reid 1954). See 2.21 and 3.16. 240~ -+-: +-::- ---' 860 84° 82° 4.6 The population in the community and the ecosystem
Spottail pinfish are important members of shallow-water grass Figure 7.-Catches of Dipladus holbrooki from the West Florida Shelf based on RV Oregon 11 Cruise 85, January 1978. Catches are for 10-min tows of41-ft bot bed communities, and probably provide forage for larger tom trawls. predators. In deeper water, they are among the major reef prey
9 species off North and South Carolina (footnote 4). They are 6 PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT characteristic members ofjetty fauna in the northern Gulf of Mex ico, and important colonizers of new jetties (Hastings 1972). Spottail pinfish are not included in fishery management plans Inshore-offshore migrations may be important in energy transfer of the South Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico Regional Fishery from shallow water to deeper reefs. They are also an important Management Councils. component of the fish fauna on offshore man-made platforms (Hastings et al. 1976) and artificial reefs (Smith et al. 1979; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Parker et al. 1979) in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic Bight. Chester et al. (1984), based on catches off the Carolinas, thank Donald M. Allen, National Marine Fisheries Service, concluded that spottail pinfish are members of an inner shelf Southeast Fisheries Center, for critically reviewing the manu « 30 m) community consisting of black sea bass, Centropristis script, and Chris Tardiff, Duke University Marine Laboratory, and striata; sheepshead porgy, Calamus penna; whitebone porgy; Charlts S. Manooch III, National Marine Fisheries Service, longspine porgy, Stenotomus caprinus; and tom tate. Southeast Fisheries Center, Beaufort Laboratory, for providing a See 3.33, 3.34, and 3.51. useful unpublished manuscript.
5 EXPLOITATION LITERATURE CITED 5.1 Fishing equipment BREDER, C. M" Jr., and D. E. ROSEN. Spottail pinfish are caught using hook and line, traps, seines, 1966. Modes of reproduction in fishes. Natural History Press, Garden City. NY, 941 p. gill nets, and trawls (Randall and Vergara R. 1978). BRIGGS,1. C. 1958. A list of Florida fishes and their distribution. Bull. Fla. State Mus.. 5.2 Fishing areas BioI. Sci. 2:223 .. ) 18. BRIGGS, J. c., H. D. HOESE, w. F. HADLEY, and R. S. JONES. Spottail pinfish are caught throughout their range, usually inci 1964. Twenty·two new meJrine tish records for the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Tex. J Sci. 16:113-116. dentally to other fisheries (Randall and Vergara R. 1978). Because CALDWELL, D. K. of their abundance, spottail pinfish are probably caught most i 955. Notes on the distflbution. spawning, and growth of the spottailed pin· often in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic coast of fish, Dip/oJ/ls ho/brooki. Q. J. Fla. Acad. Sci. 18:73·83. the United States south of Cape Hatteras. The type specimen was 1957. The biology of the pinfish Lugodoll rhomboide.r (L.). Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Florida, Gainesville, 171 p. obtained by T. Bean from a fish market in Charleston, SC (Goode CARR, w. E. S, and C. A. ADAMS. and Gill 1903). 1972. Food habits of juvenile marine fishes: Evidence of the cleaning habit See 2.1, 2.2, and 4.2. in the leatherja.;ket, Oligopliles S<1/1ms, and the spottail pinfish, Diplodu", I/O/brook/. Fish. Bull., U.S. 70:1111-1120. 5.3 Fishing seasons 1973. Food habits of juvenile marine fishes occupying seagrass beds in the eswarinezone near Crystal River. Florida. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 102:511 540. There is no known directed fishery for spottail pinfish, but in CAUSEY, B. D. shore catches probably occur mainly in warmer months when they 1969. The fish fauna of Seven and One-Half Fathom Reef, northwestern Gulf are in shallow water. Offshore catch·~s on reefs and on trawlable of Mexico. M.S. Thesis, Texas A&I Univ., Kingsville. [Not seen.] CHESTER, A. J., G. R. HUNTSMAN, P. A. TESTER, and C. S. MANOOCH Ill. bottom are probably maximum in winter when migrations take 1984. South Atlantic Bight reef fish communities as represented in hook-and· the species farther offshore. line catches. Bull. Mar. Sci. 34:267-279. See 2.2, 2.3, 3.51, and 4.2. CHITTENDEN, M. E., Jr.. and J. D. McEACHRAN. 1976. Composition, ecology, and dynamics of demersal fish communities on 5.4 Fishing operations and results the northwestern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf, with a similar synopsis for the entire Gulf. Tex. A&M Univ. Sea Grant Publ. TAMU-SG-76-208, 104 p. 5.41 Effort and intensity DARCY, G. H., and E. J. GUTHERZ. 1984. Abundance and density of demersal fishes on the West Florida Shelf, There is no known directed fishery for spottail pinfish, and January 1978. Bull. Mar. Sci. 34:81-105 DARNELL, R. M., and T. E. WISSING. therefore no effort data. 1975. Nitrogen turnover and food relationships of the pin fish Lagodon rhomboides in a North Carolina estuary. tn F. 1. Vernberg (editor), Physio 5.43 Catches logical ecology of estuarine organisms, p. 81-110. Univ. South Carolina Press, Columbia. Separate catch statistics are not reported for spottail pinfish GOODE, G. B. 1884. The fisheries and fishery industries of the United States. Section I. (Randall and Vergara R. 1978). Recreational catches reported by Natural history of useful aquatic animals. U.S. Comm. Fish Fish., Wash., the U.S. Department of Commerce (1980) combined spottail pin DC, 895 p. fish with several other species of sparids under the term GOODE, G. B., and T. GILL. "porgies." Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) reported that this 1903. American fishes. New ed. L. C. Page and Co., Boston, 562 p. HASTINGS, R. W. species was not caught in commercial quantities anywhere in its 1972. The origin and seasonality of the fish fauna on a new jetty in the north range at that time. eastern Gulf of Mexico. Ph.D. Thesis, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, The flesh of spottail pinfish is of good quality (Randall and 555 p. Vergara R. 1978); Jordan and Evermann (1923) reported that it is HASTINGS, R. w., L. H. OGREN, and M. T MABRY. an excellent panfish. Because of its relatively small size and its 1976. Observations on the fish fauna associated with offshore platforms in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Fish. Bull., U.S. 74:387-402. availability, this species probably is used for bait, much as its HILDEBRAND, S. F., and W. C. SCHROEDER. close relative, the pinfish (Caldwell 1957; Hastings 1972). 1928. Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish. 43(part 1),366 p. 10 HOESE, H. D., and R. H. MOORE. REID, G. K., Jr. 1977. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and adjacent waters. 1954. An ecological study of the Gulf of Mexico fishes, in the vicinity of Texas A&M Univ. Press, College Station, 327 1'. Cedar Key, Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Caribb. 4:1-94. HOLT, E. W. L. ROBINS, C. R., R. M. BAILEY, C. E. BOND, J. R. BROOKER, E. A. LACHNER, 1899. Recherches sur la reproduction des poissons osseaux, principalement R. N. LEA, and W. B. SCOTT. dans Ie golfe de Marseilles. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Marseilles, Zool. 5(2): 1980. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States 1-128. and Canada. 4th ed. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. 12, 174 p. JORDAN, D. S., and B. W. EVERMANN. SMITH, G. B. 1923. American food and game fishes. Rev. ed. Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1976. Ecology and distribution of eastern Gulf of Mexico reef fishes. Fla. N.Y. Mar. Res. Pub!. 19, 78 p. JORDAN, D. S., and B. FESLER. SMITH, G. B., D. A. HENSLEY, and H. H. MATHEWS. 1893. A review of the sparoid fishes of America and Europe. Rep. U.S. 1979. Comparative efficacy of artificial and natural Gulf of Mexico reefs as Comm. Fish Fish., Pt. 17, 1889-91 :421-544. fish attractants. Fla. Mar. Res. Pub!. 35,7 p. LONGLEY, W. H., and S. F. HILDEBRAND. SPRINGER, V. G., and K. D. WOODBURN. 1941. Systematic catalogue of the fishes of Tortugas, Florida, with observa 1960. An ecological study of the fishes of the Tampa Bay area. Fla. Dep. tions on color, habits, and local distribution. Pap. Tortugas Lab., Vol. 34; Nat. Resour. Mar. Res. Lab. Prof. Pap. Ser. 1, 104 p. Carnegie Inst. Wash. PubI. 535, 331 p. STEPHAN, P. MILLER, G. c., and W. J. RICHARDS. 1902. A propos de I'hennaphrodisme de certains poissons. C. R. Assoc. 1980. Reef fish habitat, faunal assemblages, and factors determining distri Franc. Avanc. Sci. 30th Sess., p. 554-570. butions in the South Atlantic Bight. Proc. Gulf Carihb. Fish. Inst. 32: STONER, A W., and R. J. LIVINGSTON. 114-130. 1984. Ontogenetic patterns in diet and feeding morphology in sympatric MILLER, G. L., and S. C. JORGENSON. sparid fishes from seagrass meadows. Copeia 1984:174-187. 1973. Meristic characters of some marine fishes of the western Atlantic STRUHSAKER, P. Ocean. Fish. Bull., U.S. 71 :301 -3 I 2. 1969. Demersal fish resources: Composition, distribution, and commercial MILSTEIN, C. B., and D. L. THOMAS. potential of the continental shelf stocks off southeastern United States. U.S. 1976. Fishes new or uncommon to the New Jersey coast. Chesapeake Sci. Fish Wild!. Serv., Fish. Ind. Res. 4:261-300. 17:198-204. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. PARKER, R. 0., Jr., R. B. STONE, and C. C. BUCHANAN. 1980. Marine recreational fishery statistics survey, Atlantic and Gulf coasts, 1979. Artificial reefs off Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Mar. Fish. Rev. 1979. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA, Nat!' Mar. Fish. Serv., Curr. Fish. Stat. 41 (9): 12-24. 8063, 139 p. RANDALL, J. E. VAN OORDT, G. J. 1967. Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. 1930. Zur mikroskopischen Anatomie der Ovariotestes von Serranus und (Miami) 5:665-847. Sargus (Teleostei). Zeitschr. Mikros. Anat. Forsch., Leipzig 19: 1-17. RANDALL, 1. E., and R. VERGARA R. [Not seen.] 1978. Sparidae. In W. Fischer (editor), FAO species identification sheets for WANG, J. C. S., and E. C. RANEY. fishery purposes, Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31), Vol. 5, unpagi 1971. Distribution and fluctuations in the fish fauna of the Charlotte Harbor nated. FAO, Rome. estuary, Florida. Charlotte Harbor Estuarine Studys, Mote Mar. Lab., 56 p.
*GPO 593-081 1984 11